How rare is a perfect ACT score?

Hey guys, quick question. I've been stressing out about the ACT, and I can't help but wonder, how rare is it to get a perfect score on it? Is it even something I should worry about aiming for, or should I just focus on doing my personal best?

A perfect 36 on the ACT is quite rare, but it's not something you should necessarily stress yourself out trying to achieve. According to ACT, Inc., in 2018, only 0.195% of all test takers earned a perfect score. That's roughly 2 out of every 1000 students.

While a perfect score is an amazing accomplishment, many top colleges don't require you to have a perfect score for admission. They're usually more interested in seeing strong performance across all academic areas, meaningful involvement in extracurriculars, well-written personal essays, and evidence of your character and leadership.

So rather than striving for a perfect score, focus on achieving a score within the middle 50% range for your target schools. Aiming for your personal best is definitely a healthy and productive mindset to have. Crafting consistent and focused study habits, identifying your weak areas, and diligently working on them can help you improve your score significantly.

Remember, the ACT is only one component of your college application. The entirety of your application, including your GPA, coursework, extracurriculars, essays, and letters of recommendation, will be considered in the admissions process. So, just focus on doing your best in all these areas. Good luck with your preparation!